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Base your printer choice on the kind of output you plan to print. Text, graphics, and photos each place different demands on a printer. In general, laser printers offer the best text quality, and ink jet printers offer the best photo and graphics quality.

If you don't need to print color, a monochrome laser printer may be a good choice. It is faster than a color ink jet and provides higher-quality output for text and line graphics.

Judge a printer's speed not only by the manufacturer's claims but also by the speed at the quality level you will use. Ink jet speed claims usually refer to the printer's fastest mode rather than the higher-quality modes you're more likely to use.

Check the connections. If you have an old computer or operating system that doesn't support USB, make sure the printer has a parallel port.

The preferred choice for shared printers is to connect them directly to your network. Make sure the printer offers both the right network connection and software that will work with your network.

Not all printers allow memory upgrades. Some need little or no memory, because they use your computer to process a print job. Others come with all the memory necessary. If a printer allows memory upgrades, make sure it has enough memory for the kind of work you'll be doing. For example, a printer may need a memory upgrade to print a full page at the highest resolution.

The less often you have to add or change consumables, the better. If you print an average of 25 pages a day, and your printer holds only 25 sheets, you'll have to load paper every day. If your printer holds 250 sheets, you'll need to load paper about once every two weeks. Choose a printer that can hold enough paper and enough ink or toner that you won't have to add or change them too often.

If the number of pages you print is large enough to be a concern, a good rule of thumb is to pick a printer with a monthly duty cycle that's about four times the number of pages you expect to print each month.

Before buying a printer, check out the manufacturer's Web site to make sure it provides driver updates and tech-support information.

When comparing printers, consider the total cost of ownership, not just the purchase price. Depending on how many pages you print, a cost difference of just a penny per page can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars over the printer's lifetime.

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About the Author

M. David Stone is an award-winning freelance writer and computer industry consultant. Although a confirmed generalist, with writing credits on subjects as varied as ape language experiments, politics, quantum physics, and an overview of a top company in the gaming industry. David is also an expert in imaging technologies (including printers, moni... See Full Bio

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